It's World Space Week This Week! Here's How to Celebrate

World Space Week — an international celebration of space and its impact on our lives — starts tomorrow (Oct. 4), and chances are good there's an event near you.

The commemoration was first declared by the United Nations General Assembly in 1999, according to World Space Week officials. It is meant to honor two seminal events in space exploration: The launching of the first satellite, Sputnik 1, on Oct. 4, 1957, and the Oct. 10, 1967, signing of the Outer Space Treaty that forms the basis for international space law.

"World Space Week consists of space education and outreach events held by space agencies, aerospace companies, schools, planetaria, museums and astronomy clubs around the world in a common timeframe," the organization's website states. "These synchronized space events attract greater public and media attention."

Some of the prominent events going on during World Space Week, which runs through Oct. 10, include:

Tuesday: A World Space Week "virtual field trip event" hosted by aerospace company Lockheed Martin in Littleton, Colorado, where students can talk with company experts about their space exploration aspirations: https://www.generationbeyondinschool.com

Monday through Saturday (Oct. 3 through Oct. 8): The Science Foundation and the European Space Education Resource Office Ireland will organize moon workshops and an "unconference" (a conference organized by participants) called SpaceUp Ireland: http://www.spaceup.ie/

IMAX will show "space-themed blockbusters and documentaries" at several AMC theaters across the United States later this month (Oct. 14 through Oct. 20). These screenings aren't actually during World Space Week, but, hey, close enough: https://www.amctheatres.com/imax-spaceweek